Obituaries
We wish all our dear ex-libris friends long life and good health! But as we all know, we cannot go on collecting forever... Please send information as to ex-libris collectors and artists who have passed away.
20.12.09 I apologise profusely for the delay in posting these news... and I am grateful to Cristiano Beccaletto for the information on our two Italian friends, as well as to Rastko Ciric for biographical details of Bogden Krsic. BOGDAN KRSIC (Sarajevo, 1932 – Belgrade, 2009)
Bogdan Krsic studied at the Academy of Applied Arts in Belgrade under Prof. Mihailo S. Petrov, and at the College for Industry and Arts in Prague under Prof. Karel Swolinsky.
From 1962 to 1997, he was full-time Professor at the Faculty of Applied Arts in Belgrade, for many years heading the Graphics Department. As a founder of the Book Design department, he directed courses in book design. He was Vice-Dean of the FAA and Vice-Rector of the University of Arts in Belgrade. He was a member of ULUPUDS, ULUS, The Graphic Collective, HOLLAR, the society of Czech graphic artists, and since its inception, Vice-President of the Belgrade Ex-libris Circle.
He was one of the most prominent graphic artists in former Yugoslavia. Apart from free graphics, he worked on illustration, typography, newspaper- magazine- and book-design, as well as ceramics, scenography and heraldry. Krsic published many texts on graphic arts in the daily press and in professional publications.
Bogdan Krsic had more than 40 one-man exhibitions, and received many awards for his graphic work, book design and ex-libris. Four books were published about him and his work: BOGDAN KRSIC by Dragan Djordjevic (Graphic Collective, Belgrade, 1968), BOGDAN KRSIC – GRAPHIC PRINTS by Vanja Kraut (National Museum, Belgrade, 1987), THE DEMIURG by Slobodan Lazarevic and Miomir Petrovic (Jefimija, Kragujevac, 1997) and IN THE GROTESQUE THEATRE OF BOGDAN KRSIC by Branislava Jevtovic (Vojnoizdavacki Zavod, Belgrade, 2004).
He made about 60 ex-libris, mainly in the technique of etching and aquatint, and is considered among the most imaginative and accomplished creator of important small format graphic works of his generation. Also, in his courses at the Faculty of Applied Arts of Belgrade University, Bogdan Krsic set as a task to each class of his students the creation of a bookplate – for themselves, a member of their family or a friend. In this way, he promoted ex-libris, which were an art form he greatly appreciated.
Egisto Bragaglia (Venice, 15 June 1916 – Merano 4 March 2009) At nearly 93, Egisto Bragaglia has left us – an internationally famous historian and researcher of ex-libris. Our condolences go to his wife, Tina – who is 97 – and whom he married in 1939. When they met, Egisto was just over 17, and she was 22. They were inseparable all their life, in work as in hobbies and pastimes – photography, clocks, voyages, arts, gastronomy, just to name a few, and during the last 30 years, graphics and bookplates. Professionally, he had a varied career, as in 1933 he joined an important firm of the IRI group, active in the commerce of steel and in 1938 directed its branch in Bolzano. In 1946 he had a commercial firm with his wife for the sale of technical equipment and tools. From 1946 until 1972, he was vice-president of the publishing house and daily newspaper ‘Alto Adige’, and was very active in public life and politics. In 1977, he renounced all public mandates and took his pension, then dedicating his life entirely to arts and culture. From that moment on, Bragaglia collected thousands of graphic art works and paintings, and organized his library of over 10’000 volumes which contained all the reference works of all aspects of culture. And he dedicated himself to the scientific study and promotion of ex-libris. He cooperated with the ‘Encyclopaedia bio-bibliographical of the art of contemporary ex-libris’, and was a member of the board of the Grafica d’arte’ magazine, and ‘UTZ, published by the Progetti Farnesiani di Ortona, as well as ‘Ex Libris’. With Remo Palmirani, he founded the ‘Accademia dell’Ex Libris’. He organized innumerable exhibitions, cooperating in particular with Ortona for the shows at the Palazzo Farnese, the first nucleus of the Mediterranean Ex Libris Museum. From 1994 until 2000, he taught at the biennial courses specialized in the cataloguing of antique books, organized by the Province of Trento. In 1998, he set up the programme for the organisation of the ex-libris section of the Brunico Museum. He gave countless conferences at the Municipal Library of the Sormani Palace in Milan, at the Library of Pavia, at the Museum of Ortona, at the seminary of the Archbishopric of Trento, at the University library of Bologna, and in Bolzano, on a wide range of occasions. Egisto Bragaglia published over 190 books and articles on bookplates and graphics, amongst which “Bibliografia italiana dell’ex libris” (1986) and “L’ex libris italiano dale origini all fine dell’Ottocento” (3 vol., 1993), are seminal works. In 1996, the Italian Libraries’ association published his ‘Ex Libris’, aimed at the employees of all Italian public libraries. His efforts produced “Gli ex libris Italiani del Novecento” in 2006, and two years later, “L’Ex libris del bibliofilo” published with the municipalità and library of Rovereto. In 2003, Bragaglia was awarded the Udo Ivask certificate by FISAE in recognition of his ‘monumental catalogue of Italian bookplates’, and in 2006, the Special Remo Palmirani Prize for ‘his indefatigable and long-term efforts in the fields of study and historical research aiming at promoting the bookplate in its most traditional and real values’. The last decision of his life was to donate an important part of his library – over 1500 volumes – to the Library of Rovereto. With Bragaglia, it is a rigourous researcher who disappears, an outstanding organizer, and an excellent public speaker. But above all, he was a man who freed the contemporary Italian bookplate from the simple function of a collector’s exchange material, fostering its re-evaluation within its historical tradition: without light, there is no colour; without a witness, there are no facts; without historical memory, bookplates are practically nothing.
Remo Wolf (Trento, 1912 – 2009) On January 27th 2009, Remo Wolf passed away peacefully – a great painter, engraver and woodcutter. He studied and acquired his skills at the Art Institutes of Parma and Florence, obtaining his diploma to teach drawing. It was in Florence that he entered the world of woodcut, etching and aquatint when he was a student, discovering bookplates when he visited an exhibition by Bruno da Osimo. Apart from paintings and drawings, his graphic works comprise 3800 free graphics, of which 2700 woodcuts and 1800 intaglio prints, about 850 bookplates and 320 ephemera. From 1936 onwards, he took part in Italian and international art shows, of which the Venice Biennial (1942, 1950, 1954 and 1956) and many others, receiving awards such as the Suzzara and Biella prizes. His work is in the collections of many Italian museums, of which the Calcografia Nazionale in Rome. Particularly in his woodcuts, Wolf was marked by central European expressionism, with strong and vigorous lines, whereas his painting was more Venetian in its light and colour. His subject matter is often autobiographical, with the daily discovery of his own world with its monotony or diversity. He was also very marked by literature and reflected texts meticulously in his engravings, as can be seen for instance in 87 plates on the works of the poet François Villon, in which one feels the strong and profound inspiration which the work had on the artist over a period of a decade – a metaphor on human life, natural rhythms, where everything inexorably repeats itself. With his death, the events of his life fade away, but his art remains as a witness of a life dedicated to the ‘craft’ through which he communicated to people his love for mountains, the flight of time or human events, fortunes and adventures.
8.05.09 The death last year of Karoly Andrusko seems to have been practically unnoticed... He still remains, today, the most prolific engraver of bookplates in the history of the genre - with over 5000 engravings of ex-libris in his opus list... 7.01.08 It was a great sadness to learn, a few days ago, that Germaine Meyer-Noirel, the 'Grande Dame' of ex-librists, passed away on Sunday January 6, after a short illness. She was born in Nancy in 1919 and spent most of her life in her native Lorraine, living in a wonderful house in the village of Tomblaine, with her husband Jean-Charles Meyer (†2000), a highly cultured chemist who shared many of her interests. The house was full of books, bookplates, engravings, and a number of other collections which were started by her father. But her home from home was the Municipal Library of Nancy, next to the celebrated Stanislas Square, where she had convinced the director, many years ago, to give a small office to AFCEL to house its collection and archives. It was a box-lined mouse's nest kept in pristine order, with albums, reserves of publications and many reference books, Germaine's desk and barely room for a chair for visitors. Germaine Meyer-Noirel was a librarian by training, and as such had a real interest in ex-libris as library owners' marks over the centuries – though she did not disdain contemporary ex-libris, even having quite a number to her own name commissioned from various artists as well as received as gifts, which she exchanged, and promptly added her acquisitions to the AFCEL collection, having no real wish to collect for herself. She was a scholar of ex-libris, a researcher and certainly the foremost expert on French bookplates for most of her life. For half a century, she worked as a volunteer for the Nancy Library and for AFCEL, publishing an array of important articles on the history of ex-libris and in 1989 a book, L'ex-libris: histoire, art, techniques, published by Picard, Paris, which remains still today the best reference work on French bookplates. She created at her office in the Nancy Library a National Centre for the Documentation of Ex-libris for AFCEL where she weaved an extraordinary web of scholars and collectors of bookplates interacting with them to identify, classify and document items which were mysterious. This quickly led her to embark on her life-work, writing an encyclopaedic repertory of French ex-libris which now contains over 30'000 items collected into close to twenty volumes. These last few years she worked assiduously on her project mostly from her home, using an excellent database which had been specially developed for her. Not wanting things to get out of hand, she asked her computer technician to install an automatic save and backup every day at 5 pm... following which the computer switched off automatically, and she stopped working! Shortly before Christmas, she passed the letter 'z' cards for checking, so her task was almost finished – AFCEL, with the help of Germaine's daughter, Cécile Malinverno, will see to it that the last volume of the repertory is published soon. Germaine Meyer-Noirel had a key role in AFCEL, recreated in 1945. She was a member since its inception and its president from 1983 to 2000, and then its honorary president until her death. She was, with the help of her husband, a key figure in the founding of FISAE (see http://www.fisae.org/historystatutes.html). All collectors and researchers who were in touch with her will remember how helpful and generous she was with her time and her immense reservoir of knowledge. She was a patient and persistent researcher, and at the same time witty and amusing, with a sharp mind and astounding memory. Beyond her major contribution to the history of ex-libris, Germaine Meyer-Noirel leaves behind her five children, 15 grand-children and 19 great-grand-children. On behalf of FISAE and the entire ex-libris community, we convey to them our heartfelt condolences.
4.05.07 Less than a week after posting the last news I have the very sad task of bringing to you more bad news. Our good friend Vladimir Loburev, founder and curator of the Ex-libris Museum in Moscow, died yesterday, May 3rd. All of you who have been to international bookplate meetings, or being in Moscow have found their way to the Ex-libris Museum on Pushechnaya, will have met him and will mourn him. This is another terrible loss for the Russian Ex-libris Association and we send them our most heartfelt condolences. A biographical note is being drafted and will be posted here soon. 30.04.07 Another leading figure of the Russian bookplate world has left us. Born on April 5, 1930, the great wood engraver and artist Anatolii Kalashnikov died in Moscow on 21 April. Click here to read a text about him by FISAE Executive Secretaty W. E. Butler. 17.04.07 There seems to be a succession of bad news... I was just informed that Veniamin Khudolei, Vice-Chairman of the Russian Ex-libris Association and editor of its journal, died on Saturday, April 14, 2007. Many of us remember Veniamin's brilliant organisation of the FISAE Congress in St. Petersburg in 1998 - and all those who knew him will miss his lively intelligence, his sense of humour and his charm. Click here to read a text on Veniamin Khudolei by W. E. Butler, FISAE Executive Secretary, and here to read a tribute to him by a group of major Russian artists who were his friends. 26.02.07 Today, not only the Bookplate Society but the entire ex-libris community is in mourning. Brian North Lee, writer, collector and historian of bookplates (*1936) died of cancer in London on 24 February 2007. Founder of the Bookplate Society in 1972 and its president for a great part of its existence, Brian was the most prolific author on ex-libris in the history of British bookplate collecting, with many of his works (for example Early Printed Book Labels [P.L.A. and Bookplate Society, 1976], British Bookplates [David and Charles, 1979], etc.) being standard reference books not only for British collectors but used worldwide. He stands without doubt alone of his generation as the epitome of the serious collector and erudite researcher on bookplates. Although his interests centred on British ex-libris and Royal bookplates, his interests were wide and he was knowledgeable on subjects as far apart as mediaeval German ex-libris or contemporary Scottish ones (a book on Scottish bookplates which he wrote with Sir Ilay Campbell is still under press). In 1995, he went to Belgrade as a member of the jury of the 'World of Ex-libris' competition, and his comments and observations showed that he also had a good eye for contemporary bookplates - as long as they were real ex-libris, and not small free graphics in disguise. By training, after an attempt at religious life, Brian became an English teacher and taught many years at a school for educationally difficult children. He delighted in language and literature and each letter one received from him was a small masterpiece. It was a tragedy for him that in the 1980s the school was closed and he was made redundant, with a very modest pension - but for bookplate enthusiasts, it was a gift, as Brian from then on spent nearly all his time and energy on ex-libris. He also, by the way, built up a breath-taking collection of mediaeval pilgrims' badges, with many pieces coveted by the British Museum. Brian's house at 32 Barrowgate Road, Chiswick, was for over a quarter of a century the place where bookplate enthusiasts from all parts of the world went for counsel and information - and to whiff an atmosphere of the England of our childhood, with mahogany and oak furniture, fine china and a grandfather clock which never worked - normal, as time stood still. Privileged visitors met the tortoise in the garden, and also Prince Stanley Hanuman, a very Royal plush monkey which went back to Brian's childhood. Talk was nearly always about bookplates - projects of articles and books, queries as to style, owners, artists, motifs - and Brian always seemed to have that snippet of information one had been looking for in vain. His memory was exceptionally good, and he was sometimes disgruntled when people, over a few years, asked him the same question twice. His deep knowledge of ex-libris was not acquired perchance: he had read all the literature on the subject of the 1860-1920 period, including all the volumes of the Ex-libris Journal, many times. I remember asking him a question about an early armorial once, and he pulled out one of the ELJ volumes, flipped the pages and came to a lengthy article on the subject of my query, written in 1906... he pushed the book in front of me , and said "It's all there!" - and I felt sheepish. Of all Brian's publications, the one which best reveals his enquiring spirit and gently caustic wit is Some recollections of a bookplate collector, which was privately published in the late 'eighties. I have just taken it from my bookshelf, and will start re-reading it when I get home tonight. Perhaps it will be a way to cheat his departure for a few days. All his friends, and especially the West Indian ones, who were the closest to him, sorely miss him. Thank you Brian, for all you have given us. Persons who want more information as to Brian North Lee can read an article by John Blatchly here, and can find information as to his funeral on www.bookplatesociety.org
22.12.06
I received this morning the very sad news that our dear friend Costante Costantini, the great Florentine engraver, painter and creator of ex-libris, died on December 1rst. I feel this loss personally and very directly, as earlier this year I went three times to Florence to see him and to prepare the exhibition of his bookplates which were shown in 'Work in Dialogue' at the FISAE Congress last August. He telephoned me in September to express his joy at having seen the catalogue and his pride in being associated with Simon Brett, Evgenji Bortnikov and Vladimir Zuev in the publication. With his loss, it is one of the last great European woodcutters who disappears. His bookplates and his rich legacy of artworks remain, with their wonderful blacks and whites in perfect balance. Behind the images of persons of all walks of life, the humanity and sense of fun of Costantini is always apparent, with rare crispness and gentility. No one was a more constant friend - as his name reminds us. For those who did not read the short biographical note in 'Work in Dialogue', it can be accessed here. The woodcut shown above is one of the many small prints he used to send as PFs and New Year cards. Below his self-portrait is the word 'auguri', which means best wishes. Best wishes to you, Costante Costantini, and may the earth be light on your grave.
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